Every X-book considered and assembled into a slipshod time-line, September '63 to May '86.

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

UXM #105: "Phoenix Unleashed!"

(This Island Earth.)

Comments

I'm definitely willing to give Erik the Red some sneakiness points here, using Havok and Polaris to set the X-Men up as villains and then letting Firestorm take them apart, but, really? Firestorm just happened to be flying past Erik's secret base? I know coincidence is something you have to just grin and bear when it comes to comics, but every now and again it just gets too ludicrous to process. It's also not a particularly encouraging sign when it happens nine issues into a continuing story. It rather suggests that not everything has been considered in as much detail as you might hope.

On the other hand, I'm loving the introduction of the Shi'ar. Claremont has never been shy about making his influences obvious, so the Shi'ar captain is both dressed and posed like Captain Kirk. Mr Sulu has been replaced by Mr S'Lar (who's a bit more red and scaly than his forebear). Spock, inevitably, is now a hot chick. Hell, Misty Knight even mentions that Lilandra's teleporter bears more than a passing resemblance to the Enterprise's transporter beam.

Having the Shi'ar run in terror from Earth because the planet has track record of slapping Galactus around is a great touch as well. Our little blue-green marble gets quite the reputation on the galactic stage in later years, and I wonder if this is where it began. Hell, all that nasty business with the Skrulls a few years back might have been avoided if only SWORD had had the foresight to install a massive sign on the moon reading "SOL 3: 4 GALACTUS ARSE-KICKINGS RECORDED TO DATE".

Now that Phoenix is on the scene, of course, they could probably just head over to Galactus' pad and smash up the joint every other weekend. Claremont has mentioned in interviews that the initial plan with Phoenix was to have her essentially become addicted to her own power levels, and it very much shows here. Jean can power a stargate and blast Galactus' herald out of the sky, but the price she pays is a level of bloodlust that would have terrified her only weeks before. Maybe throwing herself and the team through a portal to another star system will help her get it out her system...

Clues

This story takes place over the course of a few hours.

Colossus mentions that Erik the Red has been stirring shit up for months, but that works out just fine with our dating the battle at JFK Airport as being in September.

Date

Wednesday 13th January, 1982.

X-Date

X+3Y+254.

Compression Constant

1 Marvel year = 3.72 standard years.

(Storm is 35 years old.)

"Then, my friends, we know all we need to know!"

Contemporary Events

A coal strike begins in Britain, but quickly ends when Scargill's wishes are ignored and the union accepts an offer of a 9.3% pay rise by Margeret Thatcher (at the time the rate of inflation was 12%).

Standout Line

"Oh, no, not again!" Nightcrawler moans as the X-Men lose another aircraft.